Congenital defects and herpesvirus infection in beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas calves from the Critically Endangered Cook Inlet population

Burek-Huntington, KA; Shelden, Kim E. W.; Guilfoyle, C; Thewissen, J. G. M.; Migura, Mandy; Armien, AG; Romero, Carlos H.

doi:10.3354/dao03690

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Of note, seven out of 19 herpesvirus-positive individuals were calves (5 franciscanas and 2 Guiana dolphins, Table 2). In cetaceans, this age class counts with few herpesvirus descriptions, including an alphaherpesvirus infection in a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) calf with malformation 59 and another one in a sperm whale fetus (Physeter macrocephalus) 60 . We hypothesize that herpesvirus infection may occur in utero or during birth, as observed in other herpesviruses 61 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of note, alphaherpesviruses and gammaherpesviruses have been associated with mucosal and cutaneous lesions in cetaceans 32,33,44,46,68 . Additionally, alphaherpesviruses have been associated with severe localized (e.g., nephritis, encephalitis and meningoencephalitis) and fatal systemic infections in cetaceans 31,47,59,[63][64][65] . Further studies are required to elucidate if this viral family could (or not) cause hepatic and pulmonary lesions in cetaceans, as reported in other mammal taxa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survey of selected viral agents (herpesvirus, adenovirus and hepatitis E virus) in liver and lung samples of cetaceans, Brazil

Sacristán,

Ewbank,

Duarte-Benvenuto

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Hepatic and pulmonary lesions are common in cetaceans, despite their poorly understood viral etiology. Herpesviruses (HV), adenoviruses (AdV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are emerging agents in cetaceans, associated with liver and/or pulmonary damage in mammals. We isolated and molecularly tested DNA for HV and AdV (n = 218 individuals; 187 liver and 108 lung samples) and RNA for HEV (n = 147 animals; 147 liver samples) from six cetacean families. All animals stranded or were bycaught in Brazil between 2001 and 2021. Positive-animals were analyzed by histopathology. Statistical analyses assessed if the prevalence of viral infection could be associated with the variables: species, family, habitat, region, sex, and age group. All samples were negative for AdV and HEV. Overall, 8.7% (19/218) of the cetaceans were HV-positive (4.8% [9/187] liver and 11.1% [12/108] lung), without HV-associated lesions. HV-prevalence was statistically significant higher in Pontoporiidae (19.2%, 10/52) when compared to Delphinidae (4.1%, 5/121), and in southeastern (17.1%, 13/76)—the most industrialized Brazilian region—when compared to the northeastern region (2.4%, 3/126). This study broadens the herpesvirus host range in cetaceans, including its description in pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Further studies must elucidate herpesvirus drivers in cetaceans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of selected viral agents (herpesvirus, adenovirus and hepatitis E virus) in liver and lung samples of cetaceans, Brazil

Sacristán,

Ewbank,

Duarte-Benvenuto

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…McGuire et al (2020) noted that contamination by persistent organic pollutants or other contaminants might be affecting beluga whale reproduction. Another concern is congenital defects observed in some dead neonates (Burek-Huntington et al 2022); although the cause is unknown, this could be reducing successful reproduction. Cumulative effects from disturbance by noise, vessel traffic, and other factors may also be playing a role (Castellote et al 2018;McHuron et al 2023).…”

Section: Beluga Whalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cetacean Sociality, Reproduction, and Conservation

Mesnick,

Reeves,

Wade

et al. 2023

Sex in Cetaceans

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The world’s cetaceans (like most of biodiversity) are in crisis, and the need for well-informed conservation action has never been greater. Scientific advancements over the last few decades have provided much insight on the reproductive anatomy, physiology, and behavior of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Our goal in this chapter is to link scientific findings to practical actions that will improve resilience and conservation prospects of cetaceans. We provide an overview of human activities and their impacts on cetacean reproduction and review the progress (or lack thereof) toward conserving species, with a particular focus on those for which sociality and culture may be important to population recovery. For all cetaceans, it is important to preserve or, where necessary and feasible, reestablish the ecological, demographic, and social conditions that allow the animals to reproduce successfully in their natural environment. The better we understand and integrate knowledge concerning cetacean reproductive health into conservation strategies, the better the chances of achieving species recovery, protecting biodiversity, and preventing future extinctions.

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Alphaherpesvirus infection in a free-ranging narwhal Monodon monoceros from Arctic Canada

Nielsen¹,

Rodrigues²,

Marcoux³

et al. 2023

Dis. Aquat. Org.

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We report the detection of an alphaherpesvirus infecting an adult female narwhal Monodon monoceros captured live during a tagging project in Tremblay Sound, Nunavut, Canada, in August 2018. The individual had 2 open wounds on the dorsum but appeared in good overall health. A blowhole swab was collected, and subsequent virus isolation was performed using a beluga whale primary cell line. Non-syncytial cytopathic effects were seen, in contrast to syncytial cytopathic effects described for monodontid alphaherpesvirus 1 (MoAHV1) isolates previously recovered from beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from Alaska, USA, and the Northwest Territories, Canada. Next-generation sequencing was performed on a sequencing library generated from the DNA of the viral isolate and the analysis of the assembled contigs permitted the recovery of 6 genes, conserved in all members of the family Orthoherpesviridae, for downstream genetic and phylogenetic analyses. BLASTN (basic local alignment search tool, searching nucleotide databases using a nucleotide query) analyses of the narwhal herpesvirus conserved genes showed the highest nucleotide identities to MoAHV1, ranging between 88.5 and 96.8%. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis based on concatenation of the 6 conserved herpesviruses amino acid alignments revealed the narwhal herpesvirus (NHV) to be the closest relative to MoAHV1, forming a clade within the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, genus Varicellovirus. NHV is the first alphaherpesvirus characterized from a narwhal and represents a new viral species, which we propose to be known as Varicellovirus monodontidalpha2. Further research is needed to determine the prevalence and potential clinical impacts of this alphaherpesvirus infection in narwhals.

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Congenital defects and herpesvirus infection in beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas calves from the Critically Endangered Cook Inlet population

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Survey of selected viral agents (herpesvirus, adenovirus and hepatitis E virus) in liver and lung samples of cetaceans, Brazil

Survey of selected viral agents (herpesvirus, adenovirus and hepatitis E virus) in liver and lung samples of cetaceans, Brazil

Cetacean Sociality, Reproduction, and Conservation

Alphaherpesvirus infection in a free-ranging narwhal Monodon monoceros from Arctic Canada

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